1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a friction clutch for motor vehicles. The invention further relates to a friction clutch which includes a flywheel having a friction surface, a clutch housing fastened to the flywheel, a hub arranged in the clutch housing, at least one clutch disk connected with the hub so as to be fixed with respect to rotation relative thereto, a contact pressure plate connected with the clutch housing and with the flywheel so as to be fixed with respect to rotation relative thereto but so as to be axially displaceable, and a diaphragm spring arranged between the clutch housing and the contact pressure plate for loading the contact pressure plate in the direction of the flywheel for clamping the clutch disk between the friction surfaces of the contact pressure plate and the flywheel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A friction clutch of this constructional type is known, for example, from the English patent 1 506 738. In this known construction, the diaphragm spring for generating the contact pressure force for the clutch disks is supported, on the one hand, at the inner wall of the clutch housing and, on the other hand, at a concentrically arranged ring which is fastened to the clutch housing by screws with, in each instance, the intermediary of a spacer sleeve. The end faces of the spacer sleeves contact a corresponding countersurface of the ring.
Due to the greater degree of loading of all of the structural component parts of the clutch, especially owing to torsional vibrations in modem motor vehicles, the connection between the spacer sleeves and the ring in accordance with the prior art is no longer a match for all loads.